Raising the Bar
Amy Parekh prepares students to take the most challenging of exams: the California State Bar exam. Photo credit Amy Parekh
While college entrance exams are seeing a significant downturn in relevance, other standardized tests are still going strong. The bar exam, for example, continues to torture those who aspire to practice law. Lucky for those who need help passing the bar, Irvinite Amy Parekh is ready to lend a hand.
As owner of Succeed Law, a California State Bar exam prep company, Parekh knows the ins and outs of this beast of a test. A former state and federal criminal defense lawyer, Parekh took a break from the law to raise her young children and now tutors law students preparing for the bar. The Vine connected with Parekh to find out more.
The Vine: What is the bar exam and why is the California State Bar considered so difficult?
Parekh: The California Bar is actually easier than it used to be! It’s changed a lot since I started tutoring. When I took the it, it was three days long: two written days and one multiple choice day. It was the only three-day bar exam in the country. Lawyers who took that exam wear it like a badge of honor. The first day was three one-hour essays in the morning and a three-hour closed universe performance test in the afternoon. You would repeat that schedule on day three. The second day, you took a national multiple choice exam called the MBE (Multistate Bar Examination).
Now, California shortened it to two days. The first day is five essays and one 90-minute closed universe performance test. On the second day, applicants take the national MBE.
Also, in October 2020 the state changed the pass score from 1440 to 1390. If you received a score of 1390 or higher since the July 2015 bar exam you may want to look into the Provisional Licensure Program and forego ever taking the bar exam again!
The Vine: So is the California Bar Exam no longer the hardest one?
Parekh: The California Bar Exam is and will continue to be harder to pass than any other exam because of the written portion. The essays require the depth of knowledge of all sixteen subject areas and there are several issues to discuss in each essay. You have to be able to balance depth and breadth. For many applicants, there isn’t enough time to spot all the issues in the fact pattern. For others, they can spot the issues but don’t know how to deepen their analysis to collect the points. Or they don’t know how to organize their answer so that the grader can easily find the points. In that sense it’s like a math problem. It’s not enough to know the answer. It’s more important that you show all your work.
The Vine: How do you prepare your students for such an arduous exam?
Parekh: I create a paced program for my clients. We meet one-on-one online or in-person several times. I focus on teaching skills and strategies that supplement materials my clients already have from courses like Barbri, Kaplan or Themis. Sometimes they’re overwhelmed with the materials or don’t know how to use them efficiently. We work on studying smarter rather than just harder. Clients are able to turn in several essays to me for extensive feedback on both writing and knowledge. We also work intensively on mastering the performance test and troubleshooting multiple choice questions.
On the confidence building side I also coach my clients on how to compartmentalize their days. I help them manage their time and handle the balance of real life with the pressures of studying for the exam. Personal trauma, work, relationships or family stressors can affect being able to focus. I’ve had personal experience with all of that while studying for the exam so I can draw on those experiences to help my clients. When I studied for the exam I was balancing work, a two-year old and an infant. If I could do it, so can my students.
I’m also a certified yoga instructor and use that training to help center my clients. The systems I use to manage my time, stress, and stay confident and hopeful are a big help to my students. We also use a great deal of humor throughout our sessions to keep studying light. It’s an intense process, so humor helps.
The Vine: How has COVID affected the bar exam prep process and test administration?
Parekh: The biggest impact it had was that California decided to lower the passing score. Many of my clients have scored in that 1390-1440 window. The pass rate over the October administration was higher than usual, so that was great news!
Usually the exam is administered twice a year: once in February and once in July. It takes place in a large ballroom at a hotel. Thousands of applicants take the exam side-by-side.
After COVID the July 2020 exam was delayed several times and ultimately held in October. The majority of test takers took the exam in the privacy of their own home or rented out a hotel room. Your computer camera was on the entire time. Before COVID, the essays were given to you in a packet, one page per essay prompt. You could use scratch paper. You could answer the questions in an order of your choice, although I always recommend clients answer them in the numbered order. Now each essay question appears in the exam software on your screen one at a time and you aren’t allowed any scratch paper. You’re given exactly one hour per question, with a break between each.
The bigger challenge is in the closed universe 90-minute performance test. That portion of the exam has more materials. There are several pages in what is called a “fact file” and then a “library” with one to three court opinions. The applicant has to read through the materials and draft some sort of legal document, usually a persuasive court brief or an objective memorandum to a law partner. Now that this portion of the exam isn’t on paper, the applicants have to toggle and scroll between all the documents and their working answer as they write. It isn’t impossible, but it definitely requires practice beforehand so that applicants can manage their time and stay organized.
The Vine: What advice do you have for students preparing for the exam now?
Parekh: Organizing written answers to maximize points has always been the biggest challenge. With an online test, this is even more challenging. Applicants should make sure they practice spotting the issues and outlining their answer on screen without scratch paper. In California, you have to rule in and rule out any issues that you spot. For the performance test, become efficient and comfortable with the toggle and scroll method and organize your answer as you go.
The Vine: What else do you want readers to understand about the Bar and test prep process?
The California exam has always been harder than other jurisdictions. The essays remain full of hidden issues and puzzles. Even though the cut score is lower, it doesn’t mean the task of studying will be less challenging. Before moving to California as an attorney, I took the Illinios exam and I studied just as hard and stressed just as much over it, even though in hindsight it was much easier than the California exam. Studying for any bar exam is a full-time job and practicing the exam is half the battle. It’s not an act of passively reading and listening to lectures. It must be coupled with a great deal of active learning exercises like timed practice with multiple choice, on-screen essay and performance test practice.
Learn more about Parekh’s test prep program, SucceedLaw.